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unhappycamper

(60,364 posts)
Fri Oct 10, 2014, 07:16 AM Oct 2014

(NZ) Brian Rudman: If Key wants to send troops, here's a better war

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11338711



John Key could send our troops to West Africa instead to fight a much more realistic threat to New Zealand, the unchecked Ebola virus outbreak.

Brian Rudman: If Key wants to send troops, here's a better war
5:00 AM Wednesday Oct 8, 2014

The argument that if we don't join the American crusade to wipe out Muslim fanatics in Iraq and Syria, they'll swoop down to Godzone and behead us all is a rerun of the old Vietnam War domino theory - the nonsense that if we didn't join Uncle Sam to defeat the commies in the steamy jungles of Vietnam, then one by one the neighbouring states would topple, downwards to Australia and then New Zealand.

In 1966, Prime Minister John Key's "political hero", Keith Holyoake, fell for it and sent troops. In recent days, Mr Key has seemed about to make the same mistake all over again.

In New York in June and chasing a seat on the UN Security Council, he was firm. New Zealand was contemplating humanitarian aid to Iraq, but he ruled out special forces being sent, even in an advisory capacity.

Then last week and with the election out of the way, when asked about sending SAS troops to join the US campaign against Isis militants, Mr Key equivocated.
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